Unit is generating random baseline noise that is not caused by line voltage ( has been checked). We are running concentrated halocarbons on a TCD detector . Unit is only 2 years old. My thought is the TCD detector but can anything be done to quiet it down? It will eventually go away, not sure why.

I marked this assumed answered due to the age, if thats not the case, please feel free to post more questions. If you have solved it using apcharles suggestions you can mark correct and this will help others. We look forward to interacting with you in the community again.

James, I never did find out what caused noise to come but it eventually went away. I did raise injected temp overnight then lowered it back. It didn’t help immediately. Older analysts say this is a phenomenon that happens with TCD and our materials ( halocarbons) It does not make sense to me? Can a TCD “self clean” itself? Material we inject is typically over 90% pure.

The TCD is a heated filament and if there is a coating of the filament I guess it could come off with time. It sounds like the resources you have in your lab may have experience with this. When it comes to sample being pure, sample that reacts with a detector no matter how pure does have the ability to add deposit or coating or react with the filament. You can also get coating or deposit from stationary phase from the column etc .